Resilience enhancing programs in the U.S. military: An exploration of theory and applied practice.

U.S. service members are at an enhanced risk for developing mental disorders. To address these challenges, while promoting operational readiness and improving mental health outcomes, the Department of Defense directed each service component to develop and implement universal resilience enhancing programs. This paper provides a review of theoretical approaches conceptualizing resilience to trauma, including the theoretical foundations of programs currently in place. The resilience programs of U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps are described, and available program effectiveness data are reviewed. Gaps between theory and practice are identified and an alternative method of assessing psychological readiness in Army units that is informed by resilience theory is offered as one way to address these gaps and scientific concerns. By comprehensively assessing the stressors affecting Soldiers at regular intervals, military leaders may be able to better identify and mitigate stressors in a systematic way that bolsters individual and unit psychological fitness. An enhanced psychological readiness metric stands to strengthen the validity of current resilience programs, bring clarity to the mechanisms of resilience, and provide a novel way for leaders to promote readiness in their units. Application of this metric within the infrastructure of existing reporting systems stands to improve mental health outcomes for Service Members, enhance the psychological readiness of the force, and reduce healthcare costs over time.

Predicting Sensationalism in Suicide Story Headlines.

Objective: Suicide is a leading cause of death in the United States, and media publicity plays a role in suicide rates. The United States offers guidelines for the reporting of suicide. This study evaluated guideline adherence in newspaper and newswire publications covering celebrity suicide deaths. The research also assessed whether the sensationalism of article headlines could be predicted by variables reflecting nonadherent reporting. Method: Publications from 2013 to 2018 reporting on nine celebrity suicides were evaluated via content analysis. Adherence was assessed in a two-step hierarchical linear regression to determine which variables predicted sensationalism in headlines. Results: Overall adherence to reporting guidelines was moderate. Newspaper disclosure of suicide method only, suicide method and location, and note contents significantly predicted headline sensationalism in the first regression model, R2 = 22%. The sensationalism in the body of the article and other variables additionally predicted headline sensationalism in the second regression model, R2 = 55%. Limitations: This study is limited to celebrity suicide reporting and may not reflect media reporting trends of noncelebrity suicide deaths. Conclusion: Findings reveal that sensationalism in the body of the article and other variables uniquely contributed to sensationalism in newspaper headlines. This suggests that the public could be at risk for reading harmful content not consistent with reporting recommendations about suicide because of the initial attraction to sensational headlines.